2018 AUDI A3 SEDAN light

Child safety
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
in a crash.
Fig. 249 Schemat ic overv iew: installat ion of the attac h­
m ents app licab le to
a L ATCH seat
Fig. 250 Schematic overv iew : instal lat ion of the sea t using
the vehicl e's safety bel t sy stem
... When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
c:> page 305 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
... Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c:>page 305.
... If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the teth er anchors
r::> page 311.
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::>page 300 .
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg).
302
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certified
for their size and weight
c> fig. 249 and
c:> fig. 250 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward -facing child safety seat . It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth­
er emergency situation.
-Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center arm rest, door
or roof.
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
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-For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child seat with the head restraint in place
c> page 61 . Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c> page 260, Safety belts,
c> page 269, Airbag system and
c> page 294, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­ tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad­
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up­
right position.
Child safety
-Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­ erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall the forward-facing child seat at a seat­ ing position on the rear seat and have the
airbag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer .
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
303

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
provide supplementa l protection in certain fron­
tal collisions .
A WARNING -
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly insta lling a boos­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer­
gency situat ion . To help reduce the r isk of se­
r ious personal inj ury and/o r death:
- The shoulder belt must l ie as close to the
center of the child 's collar bone as poss ible
and must lie flat and snug on the uppe r
body . It must neve r lie across the t hroat or
neck . The lap be lt must lie across the pe lv is
and never across the stomac h or abdomen.
Make sure that the belt lies flat and sn ug .
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Failure to proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will ca use severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency situation
¢ page 260.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: ad just o r re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if­
ficult to install the child seat w ith the head
restra int i n place
¢ page 61 . Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
c hild seat is removed. Driving w ithout head
restra ints or w ith he ad restraints t hat are
not p roper ly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fata l neck injury d ramatically.
- Never le t a child put the sho uld er be lt un der
the arm or be hind t he back, because it co ul d
cause severe injuries in a c rash .
- C hildren o n the front sea t of any car, even
with Adva nced Ai rbags, can be serio usly in ­
jure d or even killed when a n ai rbag inflates.
- Never le t a child stan d or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never le t a child ride in the c argo a re a of
yo ur vehicle.
- Alw ays remem ber th at a c hild leaning for ­
wa rd, s itting sideways or out of position in
any way during an accident can be struck by
Ch ild saf ety
a dep loying airbag. Th is w ill resu lt in serious
pe rsonal in jury or death.
- If you m ust insta ll a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on a nd stay on, when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
- If t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described
Q page 281, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat pos itions if t he
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
ligh t does not stay on wheneve r
t he ig nit io n is sw itch ed on.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS whe n­
eve r using a ch ild restrained in a vehicle is
be ing use d
Q page 260, Safe ty belts,
Q page 269, Airbag system and
Q page 294, Important information .
Securing child safety
seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas ­
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency loc king retr actors for
the rear seats safety be lts and for the front pas ­
senger's seat safety be lt have a convertible lock ­
ing retractor for child restraints . The safety be lt
must be locked so that be lt webb ing cannot un ­
reel. The retractor can be act ivated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing norma l driving . A ch ild
safety seat can only be prope rly installed when
the safety be lt is locked so t hat the ch ild and
c hi ld safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especia lly those 12 yea rs and younger,
sho uld a lways r ide in t he bac k seat p roperly re-
st rained for thei r age and s ize.
..,..
305

Child sa fety
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac­
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing normal driving or in a cras h.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rear safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used to se­
cu re a ch ild rest raint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward toge ther w ith the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The chi ld
can be seriously in jured or killed .
- Never ins tall rear-f acing chi ld safety seats
or infant carr iers on the front passenger
seat . A child will be serio usly injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in­
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats or infant
carr iers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the a irbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safe r to install a forward-facing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being
used~ page 294 . Special preca utions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the fron t passenger
seat~ page 2 70, Child
306
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
A WARNING
A lways take special p recautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional s ituations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-fac ing
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed
~ page 281, Monit oring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child res tra int off the front passen­
ge r seat an d inst all it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions i f the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Improper installat ion of child res traints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provi ding any protect ion .
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrie r.
- After checking to make sure that the ch ild
restraint is proper ly installed, make ce rtain
that the child restraint is correctly recog­ nized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the co rrect front passenger frontal a irbag
s tat us.
A WARNING
Forward- facing child restr aints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has bee n des igned and certified by its man­
uf ac turer for use on a front sea t wit h a pas­
senger front and side air bag.
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-Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the ins trumen t pan­
el.
- Always move t he front passenger seat to
the h ighest position in the up an d down ad­
justment range and move it back t o the
r e armost position in t he seat's fore a nd aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
wa rd-facing child restra int.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restrain t
so tha t the safety bel t will be properly pos i­
tioned.
- Make sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A ch ild in a re arwa rd-facing child sa fety seat
installed on the front passenger seat wi ll be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates
-even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, center armrest , door
o r roof .
- Always be especially careful if you must in­
sta ll a rearward facing child safety seat on
the fron t passenger seat in exceptional c ir­
c u ms tances .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immedia tely in­
st al l t he rear-fac ing ch ild safety sea t in a
re ar seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Au di deale r.
Ch ild saf ety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the c hild safety seat manufactu rer 's
i ns truc tio ns when instal ling a child restra int i n
your vehicle . To activate the convertib le locking
retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear sea t.
.,. Slowly pull the belt all the way out .
.,. Route it arou nd or through the child restra int
be lt
path ~,&. .
.,. Push the c hild safety sea t down with yo ur full
weigh t to ge t the safe ty belt really tight.
.,. Insert t he be lt tong ue into the b uckl e for tha t
seating position .
.,. Guide the safety be lt back into t he ret ractor un ­
til the be lt lies flat and sn ug on the c hild safety
seat .
.,. You s hou ld hear a "cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con ­
vert ib le lock ing retractor by pull ing on the belt .
You s hou ld no lo nger be able to pull the belt
ou t of the re tra cto r. T he convertib le lo ckin g re ­
t ra cto r is now activated.
.,. Ma ke sure that t he red release bu tton is facing
away from the c hild restraint so that it can be
unb uc kled quickly .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly t ight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more t han
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wro ng ch ild rest raint o r an impro p­
e rly instal led child restr aint can cause se rious
person al injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure th at the s afety be lt re­
tr act or is locked when installing a child
safety sea t. An un locked safe ty be lt retrac­
tor cannot hold the ch ild safety seat in p lace
du ring norma l drivin g or in a c rash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat fi rm ly in
p lace even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around dur ing
a sudden stop or in a crash.
~
307

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Tether anchors and tether straps
I
Applies to: Sedan
Fig . 256 Tet he r ancho rs: recess flaps be hind th e rea r sea t­
backs
Applies to: Cabriolet/Sportback
F ig. 257 Tethe r ancho rs: recess flaps be hind the re ar seat­
ba cks
Applies to: Sedan: The tether anchors fo r the rear
seating positions a re located in recesses in the
rear window
shelf ¢ fig. 256
Applies to: Cabriolet/Sportback: The tether an­
chors for the rear seat ing positions are located
on the backside of the rear seatbacks
¢ fig. 257.
A tether is a stra ight or V-shaped strap that at·
taches the top part of a child restra int to special
anchorage points in the vehicle .
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for ­
ward movement of the child restra int in a crash,
in order to help reduce the r isk of head injury
that could be ca used by str iking the veh icle in te­
rior .
Forward facing child restrai nts manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U .S. fed·
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement perfo rmance requirements . T hese
new perfo rmance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats .
Ch ild s afe ty
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restra ints wi ll
i ncrease the risk of injury and death in a
crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided by
the manufacturer of the ch ild restraint you
intend to insta ll in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restraint anchors (in ­
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a co llision . The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by
car ·
rectly fi tted ch ild restraints.
- Never mo unt two child restraint systems on
one LA TC H lowe r anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to
one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compa rtment.
- Never use child restra int tether anchorages
to secure safety be lts or other kinds of occu­
pant restrain ts.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or othe r
items to the LA TCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of excep tional cir cumstances a nd the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear -facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
311

Child safety
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
App lies to: Sedan
F ig. 2S8 Tether strap : proper ro utin g and mount ing
@
App lies to: Cabr iolet/Sportback
Fig . 259 Tether strap: proper rout ing and mount ing. ©
center ,@ outs ide
Installing the tether strap
Applies to: Sedan
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions.
.. Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head restraint (raise the head restraint if neces­
sary)
i=> fig . 258. For child restraints with V­
tether straps, a lways make sure that the head
restra int guide rods do not interfere with any
part of the top tether strap.
312
.. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket .
.. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage .
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spr ing
catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restra int manufacturer's instructions.
Installing the tether strap
Applies to: Cabr iolet/Sportback
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the chi ld
restraint accord ing to the ch ild restraint manu­
facturer's instructions .
.,. Applies to: Sportback: Unlock the backrest and
fold it slightly forward
¢ page 65, Increasing
the cargo area
and locate the tether anchor be­
hind the rear seat backrest .
.. Applies to: Cabriolet: Unlock the backrest and
fold it slightly forward
i=> page 66, Pass­
through
and locate the tether anchor behind
the rear seat backrest .
.,. Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head restraint (raise the head restraint if neces­
sary)
i=> fig. 259 . For child restraints with V­
tether straps, always make sure that the head
restraint g uide rods do not interfere with any
part of the top tether strap .
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage .
.. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook is engaged .
.. Straighten the backrest back up into its upright
position and press it firmly into the locking
mechanism.
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restra int manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing the tether strap
.. Loosen the tension on the straps follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
.,. Depress the spr ing catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c hild restraint firmly in place.

Checking and Filling
Checking and Filling Fuel
Gasoline grade
A pp lies to: ve hicles w ith gasoline engines
The correct gasoline grade is stated on the inside
of the fuel filler door .
The vehicle is equipped with a catalytic converter
and must only be driven with
unleaded gasoline .
Audi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent Gas­
oline. Additional information on TOP TIER Deter­
gent Gasoline can be found on the official web­
site (www .toptiergas.com).
The individual gasoline grades are differentiated
by
octane ratings. This value is given with (R +M)/
2 equating to AKI or in RON.
The following headings match the corresponding
sticker in the fuel filler door .
UNLEADED FUEL ONLY MIN. (R+M)/2 87
Regular/ MIN. RON 91 Regular
Use regular gasoline with minimum 87 AKI/
91 RON
i::>@ .
The max imum eng ine power is only reached if
p rem ium gasol ine 91 AKI/ 95 RON is used.
UNLEADED FUEL ONLY PREMIUM MIN. (R
+M)/2 91 / SUPER MIN. RON 95
Using premium gaso line with minimum 91 AKI/
95 RON is recommended.
If premium gasoline is not available, you can also use regular gasoline 87 AKI/ 91 RON . However
this does reduce th e engine powe r slight ly.
0 Note
- Fillin g the tank just one time with leaded
fuel or other metallic additives will cause
permanent deter iorat ion to the catalytic
converter function.
- When gasoline with an octane rat ing that is
too low is used , h igh speeds or heavy engine
load can lead to engine damage.
314
(D Tips
The vehicle may be filled with fuel that has a
h igher octane rating than what is required by
the eng ine.
Blended gasoline
App lies to : vehicles wi th gaso line e ngi ne
Use of gasoline containing alcohol or MTBE
(methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded gasoline blended with al ­
cohol or MTBE (commonly referred to as oxygen­
ates) if the blended mixture meets the following
criteria:
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or h igher.
- Blend must contain no more than
3% metha-
nol.
- Blend must contain more than
2% co-solvents.
Blend of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol or
ethyl alcohol)
-Anti-knock index must be 87 AK I or h igher.
- Blend must not conta in more than 15% etha-
nol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE
- Anti -knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
- Blend must not contain more than 15% MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform es­
pecially well for winter or summer dr iv ing . Dur­
i ng seasonal change-over, we suggest that you
fill up at busy gas stat ions where the seasonal
adjustment is more lik ely to be made in t ime.
@ Note
- Methanol fuels which do not meet these re­
quirements may cause corrosion and dam­
age to plastic and rubber components in the
fuel system.
- Do not u se fue ls that fail to meet the speci-
fied criteria in this chapter.
...